Photo: Auroras over Tromsø, North Norway on December 13, 2014 (credit: Truls Tiller, posted on SpaceWeather.com)

AT FIRST GLANCE, the first few days of the coming week appear fairly quiet. On Tuesday, Mercury enters Capricorn to help us focus on what needs to get done, and Jupiter makes a minor aspect with Venus that could correspond with overspending. But we see no major aspects on Monday, nor on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, which could leave us with the impression that not much is going on.

But looks can be deceiving! The effects of tonight’s Pluto-Uranus square (exact Sunday, Dec 14 at 9:13pm PST) continue in full strength throughout the week ahead. Transformation and liberation are the keywords throughout this time.

And, if we look at next weekend’s aspects, we realize that any lull in the planetary action is merely the universe pausing for a breath before pushing through another wave of changes. The image of a pregnant woman in labor comes to mind, each wave of energy another contraction that ultimately enables new birth to occur.

TWO HEADLINES share the top of the page next weekend. The first headline emphasizes the core Pluto-Uranus themes of transformation that are so familiar to us by now: Venus will align with Pluto and square Uranus on Saturday, drawing our attention to the need for change in our relationships and in how and where we invest our energy and our resources.

These aspects may mark a particularly potent time with regards to how we manage these areas of our lives. This is partly because Venus is stepping into the energy field of the Pluto-Uranus square so close to the date of their exact aspect. But, the potentials for change are also increased because Uranus changes directions next Sunday.

IF YOU’VE BEEN READING this journal for a while, you’re already familiar with my “train in the station” analogy with regards to the effects of a planet when it changes direction. Basically, when a planet comes to a standstill, either preparing to go retrograde (backward) or direct (forward), we can imagine ourselves standing on the platform at a train station.

As the train comes into view, we can feel the platform begin to vibrate and we can hear the engine’s roar. The vibration and noise get stronger as the train gets closer. When the train finally comes to a stop right in front of us, we are feeling the effects most powerfully. Then, when the train reverses direction and pulls out of the station, our awareness of the vibration starts to gradually diminish as the train moves off and gains speed in the new direction.

NOW, imagine that train is Uranus, the planet of rebellion and change, and that the vibration we feel as Uranus enters the station is triggering a similar energy in us — namely our need for freedom and independence in some area of our lives. We may feel more easily irritated when Uranus is so strong, and can take actions that we might have once considered too radical.

We can use this energy in positive ways, of course — to break free from situations and relationships that no longer serve us, that have become too limiting to our growth. And yet, we can overdo the rebelliousness and create havoc unnecessarily.

SELF-KNOWLEDGE and self-awareness are key here. We need to know ourselves well enough to realize what irritations are short-term and what issues have really come to a crisis point, where change is long overdue. With that awareness, we can choose the changes we make, rather than being driven by the heightened emotions of the moment.

And, there’s always the unknown factor with strong Uranus energies. It may be the other person who suddenly states their need for change, or we may experience situations that shift our lives in unexpected ways. Our best response to whatever happens with this influence is to be flexible, and to accept that there are usually benefits associated with all changes, even those that appear less positive at first.

NEXT WEEKEND is also the December Solstice, as the Sun enters Capricorn and we change seasons, going from fall to winter in the Northern Hemisphere and from spring to summer in the Southern Realms.

While the solstice always marks a time of beginnings, this one is even more important in that regard, since it occurs so close to the other major turning-point events on Sunday: the New Moon and Uranus’ station. (Uranus stations at 2:44pm PST, the solstice is at 3:03pm PST, and the New Moon is at 5:35pm PST.)

In astrological tradition, the chart drawn for the solstice shows themes that will carry through the coming three months. It appears that this solstice — and therefore the next three months — is a powerful time to set new intentions, to break free from restrictions, and to allow the winds of change to do their work.

THREE WEEKS and counting until our teleclass on January 8! I’m calling this class “At the Door of a New Age” — and I’m excited to talk with you about the possibilities that lie ahead of us in the new year.

To help you get the most from the class, your registration confirmation email will include a pdf of monthly calendars I’ll be using during the class. If you’d like to print the calendars before the class airs, you can then take notes directly on the calendars as you listen to the class, either live or by replay.

The full class description is below, so please read on if you would like more information. Or, if you’re ready to sign up for the class, here’s the link:http://pam2015.eventbrite.com

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At the Door of a New Age
Your astrology guide for January to June 2015

THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF 2015 hold enormous potential for spiritual growth and creative change, as the planets challenge each of us to make a quantum leap in some area of our lives.

We’ve been working with the transformational energies of the ongoing Pluto-Uranus square for 3 years now. By the end of 2014, we will have experienced the exact aspect 6 times. But in each of those exact aspects, either Pluto or Uranus has been retrograde, leaving us to balance the need to resolve issues from the past with a strong desire to leap into the future.

March 16, 2015 is the date of the 7th and final exact square between Pluto and Uranus – and on that date, both planets will be in forward motion. In other words, it’s all systems go, full speed ahead!

In this 90-minute teleclass, I’ll explain more about what this final Pluto-Uranus square means, and how it relates to the title of the class, “At the Door of a New Age.” I’ll also talk about other exciting and potentially life-changing events in the first 6 months of 2015:
• The highly-energized line-up of planets in mid-March, which sees Mars aligning with Uranus and both planets trine Jupiter, right before the final Pluto-Uranus square – and just days before an eclipse and the solstice
• The Total Solar Eclipse on March 20 in the very last degree of the zodiac (29 degrees of Pisces), indicating a time of completion and the need to release old definitions of spirituality
• The Total Lunar Eclipse on April 4 that activates more events related to the Pluto-Uranus-Mars-Jupiter line-up in March
• The first months of Saturn’s transit through Sagittarius, and its return to Scorpio on June 14
I’ll also cover the significance of the New and Full Moons for each month, as well as Mercury’s retrograde phases, and other highlights of the first half of 2015. As before, the slideshow will include monthly calendars showing the most important planetary aspects.

I hope you can join us, either “live” as the class airs, or by download afterward!

To Subscribe to the NorthPoint Journal: If you have been forwarded this issue of the NorthPoint Astrology Journal and would like to receive it directly every week, please click here to access the “Journal” page of Pam’s website. Then, scroll down to the bottom of the webpage, fill out the subscription form, and click on Submit.